NCHS has released the following new and updated NHANES data:

2003-2004 Data
- Urinary Total Arsenic and Speciated Arsenics – Lab 6 (new)
- Housing Characteristics Questionnaire (updated)

2001-2002 Data
- Dietary Interview Data – Exam (updated)

PRI researchers may request the above data from the Data Archivist.

NCHS has announced the 2005-2006 NHANES data release. The Demography files and some of the Exam and Questionnaire files are available on PopNet and SodaPop.

PRI researchers may request additional Exam files, as they become available, from the Data Archivist.

After a quarter century of increases, obesity prevalence has not measurably increased in the past few years but levels are still high –- at 34 percent of US adults aged 20 and over, according to a new study released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report, Obesity Among Adults in the United States — No Change Since 2003-2004 (PDF) is the latest analysis based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), conducted by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

NCHS has released the following new and updated NHANES data:

2003-2004 Data
- Biochemistry Profile – Lab 40 (updated)
- Vitamin A, E and Carotenoids – Lab 45 (new)
- Early Childhood Questionnaire (updated)

2001-2002 Data
- Vitamin A, E and Carotenoids – Lab 45 (new)
- Early Childhood Questionnaire (updated)

PRI researchers may request the above data from the Data Archivist.

NCHS has released the following new and updated NHANES data:

2003-2004 Data
- Vitamin D – Lab 6 (new)
- Prescription Medications – Questionnaire (new)
- Complete Blood Count – Lab 25 (updated)
- Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers – Lab 28 (updated)

2001-2002 Data
- Vitamin D – Lab 6 (new)
- Heavy Metals – Lab 6 (updated)
- Complete Blood Count – Lab 25 (updated)

PRI researchers may request the above data from the Data Archivist.

NCHS has announced the availability or updates for the following NHANES labs:

New
Lab 06 Heavy Metals (2003-2004)
Lab 06 Urinary Mercury (2003-2004)

Updated
Lab 06 Methylmalonic acid and Homocysteine (2003-2004)
Lab 24 Polyfluorinated compounds (2003-2004)
Lab 26 Priority Pesticides and Organophosphate Pesticides (2001-2002)
Lab 28 Persistent Organochlorines, Furans, and Co-Planar PCBs (2001-2002)
Lab 26 Priority Pesticides and Organopohosphate Pesticides (1999-2000)

PRI researchers may request the above data from the Data Archivist.

NCHS has announced the availability of the following NHANES data files:

2003-2004
———-
Lab 24 Environmental Phenols
Lab 28 Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers
Dermatology (Exam)

PRI Affiliates may request the above data from the Data Archivist.

NCHS has announced that the NHANES data set has added supplement records collected in the prescription medications section of the Sample Person questionnaire. These include prescription supplements and other items later determined to be supplements. The Questionnaire files have been updated on SodaPop and PopNet.

NCHS has announced that because of quality control issues, LBXHBS (antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen) has been removed from the NHANES Hepatitis data for years 1999-2004. This variable will be released after these issues have been resolved. The data on SodaPop and PopNet now have the LBXHBS variable removed.

Americans used to be the tallest people in the world, but have been falling behind other nations since World War II. The Associated Press talked to scholars in demography and economics about the possible causes and implications of this trend (AP via Centre Daily Times).

See also:

John Komlos & Benjamin E. Lauderdale (2007). Underperformance in affluence: The remarkable relative decline in U.S. heights in the second half of the 20th century. Social Science Quarterly 88(2): 283–305. [Available online to Penn State faculty, staff, and students.]

John Komlos & Benjamin E. Lauderdale (2007). The mysterious trend in American heights in the 20th century. Annals of Human Biology 34(2): 0301-4460. [Available online to Penn State faculty, staff, and students.]

John Komlos & Benjamin E. Lauderdale (in press). Spatial correlates of US heights and body mass indexes, 2002. Journal of Biosocial Science. [Available online to Penn State faculty, staff, and students.]

Eileen M. Crimmins & Caleb E. Finch (2006). Infection, inflammation, height, and longevity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103: 498-503. [Available online to Penn State faculty, staff, and students.]